Many martial artists have mentioned to me, and to others, that the proof that martial arts are superior to boxing is that martial artists practices forms and boxers do not. These same men will also point out that boxers only use 4 punches, where martial artists use many. Perhaps they do not know that there are nine variations of the jab, and that most boxers practice three. There are three left hooks, two right hooks, three straight rights, two kinds of overhand right, the right cross, three kinds of uppercuts, shift punches, cutoff punches…

So, getting back to the point, I would like to strike a note of agreement with traditional martial artists that are dismayed at the MMA craze in which forms have no place—apparently. Consider that forms are called many things, katas, jurus, hyungs. Likewise, forms in boxing have different names. We don’t call them ‘forms’ because that seems too rigid. We don’t call them katas because we communicate in English, the language of boxing. They are drills; instructional bio-mechanical patterns, as are kung fu forms.

I am often frustrated by my boxers’ impatience with shadow boxing, shadowboxing being the counterpart to the form in boxing. It may seem random but entails a multitude of chained micro forms which we call drills.

We have line drills.

We have pivot drills.

We have defensive drills.

We have integrated drills.

We have punching drills.

We have weaving drills.

We have movement drills like the U-hustle, the shift and the fade.

Put all of these drills together, imagine an opponent moving and throwing in front of you, and work. That is shadow boxing, the place—hitting air—where the boxer learns his craft. The better the boxer the more shadowboxing he does. For one thing, the shadow boxer does not get tired when he misses, where the knucklehead that just trains on bags and mitts gases when he finds himself missing punches.

In stick fighting we have numerous drills that would be called katas or forms if we were Asian or Asian-based. But since we are Americans speaking English we call them drills or counts. I know more than I can do in three hours. We just don't call them forms.

The point remains that air work, in martial arts, boxing, and stick fighting is the place you hone your skills in a vacuum before stressing them against targets, partners, and opponent’s, and this air work is too often neglected by the novice and the dabbler.

For more on how boxers fight check out American Fist at the link below.